About
Epione is Quantum Surgical's flagship robotic-assisted platform built to transform the field of interventional oncology. Designed for interventional radiologists, the system guides clinicians through safe and effective percutaneous tumor ablation — a minimally invasive technique where one or more needles are inserted through the skin to destroy tumors without open surgery. Traditionally, percutaneous ablation has been underutilized as a frontline cancer treatment due to the high technical skill required, particularly for small, oddly shaped, or difficult-to-reach tumors. Epione addresses this by combining robotics, AI-driven trajectory planning, and real-time imaging guidance to automate the most complex aspects of needle placement. With a single click, clinicians can identify the tumor volume, select the number of needles, and receive an optimized trajectory plan for all needles simultaneously. Epione is CE marked for abdominal, chest, and musculoskeletal (MSK) indications, and FDA cleared for abdominal ablation. Its MSK indication opens new possibilities for bone ablation and consolidation procedures. The platform has been deployed in over 20 leading cancer centers globally, including Gustave Roussy and Hospices Civils de Lyon in France, and Baptist Health in the USA. Key benefits include enabling less-experienced physicians to perform complex procedures previously reserved for senior experts, improving needle placement accuracy, and reducing procedure time. Epione is purpose-built for hospitals, cancer centers, and interventional radiology departments seeking to expand and standardize their ablation programs.
Key Features
- AI-Guided Needle Trajectory Planning: Clinicians identify the tumor volume and click once; Epione automatically calculates optimized trajectories for all required needles, significantly reducing planning time and complexity.
- Robotic Percutaneous Ablation Support: The robotic arm precisely guides needle placement through the skin to destroy tumors without surgical intervention, improving accuracy over manual insertion.
- Multi-Indication Clearance: CE marked for abdominal, chest, and musculoskeletal (MSK) indications and FDA cleared for abdominal ablation, covering a broad range of tumor types and locations.
- Procedure Democratization: Enables less-experienced physicians to safely perform complex multi-needle ablations that were previously limited to the most senior interventional radiologists.
- MSK Bone Ablation & Consolidation: A newly added musculoskeletal indication expands Epione's clinical utility to bone tumor ablation and consolidation procedures.
Use Cases
- Treating inoperable early-stage liver, lung, or abdominal tumors with robotic-guided percutaneous ablation instead of open surgery.
- Enabling less-experienced interventional radiologists to safely perform complex multi-needle ablation procedures at regional cancer centers.
- Ablating small or poorly positioned tumors that are difficult to target manually due to their size, shape, or proximity to critical structures.
- Performing musculoskeletal (MSK) bone tumor ablation and consolidation using the newly approved MSK indication.
- Standardizing and scaling interventional oncology programs at large academic cancer hospitals to treat more patients with minimally invasive techniques.
Pros
- High Needle Placement Precision: Needles are placed exactly as predicted, reducing the margin of error inherent in manual placement and improving oncological efficacy.
- Expands Access to Complex Procedures: Allows a broader range of clinicians to perform sophisticated ablations, helping cancer centers treat more patients including those with challenging tumor locations.
- Time Savings Through Automation: Single-click trajectory planning for multiple needles simultaneously streamlines workflow and reduces overall procedure time.
- Regulatory Clearances: CE marking and FDA clearance across multiple indications provide hospitals with confidence in the system's safety and clinical validity.
Cons
- High Cost of Adoption: As a premium medical robotics system, Epione requires significant capital investment and is primarily accessible to large cancer centers and hospitals.
- Limited to Specific Indications: Currently cleared for abdominal (FDA), and abdominal, chest, and MSK (CE) indications only — not yet approved for all cancer types or anatomical regions.
- Requires Clinical Training: Integration into existing interventional radiology workflows requires dedicated onboarding and training for clinical staff.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Epione platform used for?
Epione is a robotic-assisted platform used by interventional radiologists to perform percutaneous tumor ablation — a minimally invasive procedure where needles are inserted through the skin to destroy tumors, without open surgery.
Is Epione FDA cleared and CE marked?
Yes. Epione is FDA cleared for abdominal ablation and CE marked for abdominal, chest, and musculoskeletal (MSK) indications.
How does Epione use AI in the procedure?
Epione's AI analyzes the tumor's location, size, and shape to automatically generate optimized needle trajectories. Clinicians simply identify the tumor volume and select the number of needles — the system handles trajectory planning with a single click.
Who can use the Epione robot?
Epione is designed for interventional radiologists and cancer centers. Importantly, it is engineered to enable less-experienced physicians to safely perform complex multi-needle procedures that were previously limited to highly experienced operators.
How many patients have been treated with Epione?
As of the latest data, Epione has been used to treat over 1,500 patients across more than 20 cancer center installations worldwide, with the company holding 25+ patents covering the technology.
